Leftbank cultivates community

The Leftbank Project

In pop culture, the “Left Bank” refers to a bohemian neighborhood in turn-of-20th-century Paris where artists, philosophers and writers created some of the most important cultural works of the early 20th century. On the east bank of the Willamette River in Portland, the Leftbank Project is trying to create a similar community aesthetic focused on contributing to Portland’s economic, social and environmental vitality.

“Leftbank is a commercial development driven by a very strong vision for community,” says its community manager, Joanna Agee. It’s a vision that others in Portland,have had success implementing: Ecotrust’s at the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center is the best case in point.

DiLoreto Architecture and Alora Development led the renovation of the 53,000 square foot Leftbank building originally built in 1923. The partners would not disclose project costs, which were at least partially covered by a grant from Portland Development Commission’s (PDC) Storefront Improvement Program. The building is in the Convention Center Urban Renewal Area which made it eligible for at least $50,000 in loans to cover up to 50 percent of its pre-development costs or 20 percent of total costs. The investment is apparently paying off. The building first started renting space for between $12 and $18 a square foot in March 2009 and already has a 57 percent occupancy rate.

Current tenants include Portland Farmers Market; a co-working space called The Hive; Solidcore, a designer of sustainable office furniture; and Blue Tree Strategies, a sustainability consultant.

The burgeoning community of like-minded businesses—many of which have a mission to affect change—is located in what was an unused building in a largely unkempt, under-used neighborhood. At its doorstep are many transit options that converge “… like spokes that head out to the individual parts of Portland,” Agee says.

Leftbank’s location is key to its sustainability goals, which include increasing the use of mass transit in Portland and re-vitalizing the surrounding neighborhood directly adjacent to the downtown core. The building is at the head of the Broadway Bridge, close to Interstate 5 and on major bicycle routes. Portland’s streetcar expansion, planned to start operating in 2011, will have its first stop on the east side of the river at the space’s front door.

Green building techniques were employed throughout the building. An energy efficient HVAC system with separate controls for different zones of the building was installed and worked well during the past summer’s heat wave and continues to hold up as cold weather rolls in, Agee reports. There is not yet enough data to calculate its efficiency, however. LED fixtures, including historic ones refurbished by Portland-based Eleek Inc., are also helping the building run efficiently, she says. Many pieces of the original building that were no longer able usable as originally intended were re-purposed. Water-damaged beams were milled in to stair treads and benches, and new floors were crafted from old floor boards.

Leftbank is not certified as a green building though. “To save the building and make it financially sustainable took measuring and evaluating every choice … [and] weighing the environmental impact against use, cost and length of life,” Agee says. “It seemed resources were better used if every single resource went into the building and it’s restoration. If you don’t have a $100,000 to put toward certification, that doesn’t mean you should give up sustainability.”

Even in Portland, a city where residents and businesses pride themselves on being part of one the country’s most sustainably minded cities and have a sixth sense when it comes to nosing out greenwashing, a lack of certifications hasn’t hurt Leftbank’s bottom line.

Phase two of the project is currently under construction across the street which received a loan from PDC. The Leftbank Annex, a 13,500-square-foot event space in an existing building would give community members and others a mid-sized venue for which Agee says she thinks Portland is hungry.